D.C.'s Role in the IRS Scandal Depends on What You Mean by 'D.C.'

By Philip Bump

June 7, 2013

People in Washington received information about the IRS's improper targeting of Tea Party groups in July 2010, significantly earlier than has been reported previously. That sentence is a loaded one, one that can be interpreted as damning evidence of an administration-led conspiracy. But there are a few big caveats buried within it — including one about where that sentence came from.

The revelation stems from a Reuters story published this morning, centering around Elizabeth Hofacre, an official with the agency's tax-exempt division in Cincinnati who spoke with investigators from the House Oversight Committee. That July, about four months after staffers in the division began flagging applications for tax-exempt status based on words like "Tea Party" and "9/12," Hofacre sent information about it to our nation's capital. But how many people saw it isn't clear. See, Hofacre sent the information as an attachment in an email to too many people.